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college bound help

This site is the basis for many important aspects of your college search. One, it is the place to register for the SAT and SAT subject tests, take practice tests and receive your scores. To maximize the effectiveness of this website, create a profile with all your high school data. Once your profile is complete, you can search a variety of colleges on various criterion, and then see how well you match up with their students. College Board is also the administrator of AP exams. College Board is also where to sign up for the CSS Profile - a financial aid application that is now required by many colleges.

College Navigator allows you to access a data base of thousands of colleges in the United States. It enables you to build side by side comparison charts, which can be very helpful in your search. Additional material is available on careers, ways to prepare for college, and financial aid. Search results can be exported into a spreadsheet.

College Prowler features reviews, ratings, and feedback in various categories (even where do I find great pizza near campus?) that come from students themselves. The site requires a detailed registration for full access.

COLLEGEdata is a free college planning website with tools and expert advice to help you choose, prepare, apply and pay for college.

COLLEGEdata is a service of 1st Financial Bank USA.

NextStepU

NextStepU Magazine and NextStepU.com help high school junior and senior students plan for their next steps in planning for college, careers and life. NextStepU is an easy, free resource for high school students, parents and school counselors that helps them find information about pursuing a career, joining the military, applying to and attending a community college or four-year college or university, finding financial aid and scholarships for college or university, finding a college match, and developing important life skills. We hope NextStepU helps you get to and through college, or whatever your next step may be!

StudentsReview

Students review colleges, majors, career choices, and more. There are indepth comments for pros and cons on thousands of schools, and tips from alumni on how to get into the school of your choice!

OK, I'm Going to College. Now How do I pay for this?

The cost of a college education has risen dramatically. Many college sites offer excellent tools and guidance on tuition and expenses, loans, grants, and scholarships. In general, the best student loan deals are through the federal government. Educate yourself on loan types, loan terms, and repayment options and penalties before you sign! Here are some helpful websites:

FAFSA is the starting point for all federal student aid; all students applying for aid must submit a FAFSA form. If you accept student loans, this is also the website where you must complete your loan counseling, sign your promissory note, and apply for a pin to sign your on-line federal documents.

Fastweb is the premier online resource for paying and preparing for college. For fifteen years, we have excelled in providing students with the resources to realize their educational pursuits, from the time they begin their college search in high school to the day they land their first job after graduation. Fastweb members are matched to relevant scholarship opportunities completely free of charge. With roughly 1.5 million scholarships worth over $3.4 billion, there are scholarships for every student’s educational goals, activities and interests. Additionally, Fastweb members can depend on us for insider financial aid tips and job and internship matches in their area. Our success stems from our commitment to empower students lives through information and innovation, creating an environment in which the scholarship and financial aid industry is better defined and more attainable.

This site does a remarkabley good job of explaing the complexities of financial aid in a simple, straightforward way. It also has dozens of tools for calculating college costs, loan payments, savings, and the expected family contribution (EFC).

Since our founding in 1999, Scholarships.com has helped students find money for college as well as learn about the entire financial aid process. Over the years, we've become one of the most widely-used and trusted free college scholarship search and financial aid information resources on the Internet and have been recognized by high schools, colleges and universities nationwide. We’ve built solid relationships with colleges and universities across the country and want to provide students with the opportunity to not only interact with prospective colleges but to be recruited by them as well. And it’s all FREE.

Keep in mind that even though the web is helpful, it is important to maintain communications with your high school guidance counselor, and your high school website. Often times local scholarships are posted in the guidance office. Stay organized and good luck!